Material handling attachment for lift truck

ABSTRACT

A MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT FOR A FORKLIFT TRUCK INCLUDING A BASIC SUPPORT ASSEMBLY DETACHABLY SECURED ON THE FORKLIFT TINES. THIS BASIC SUPPORT ASSEMBLY IS CONSTRUCTED TO BE CAPABLE OF MOUNTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF MATERIAL HANDLING SUCH AS BOOMS, EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT AND THE LIKE WITHOUT THE USE OF SPECIAL TOOLS.

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ted States 2,846,102 8/1958 Connor.......,................ 3,206,052 3,266,599 3,396,862 3,415,339

[72] Inventor Vincent Laken 119 W. 147th St., Harvey, [11. 60426 832,921

9/1965 Kennedy 8/1966 Dearden...H...........

2l4/62OX 8/1968 Fischer.. 214/620 12/1968 Range 214/620X [21 Applv No. [22] Filed June 13, 1969 [45] Patented June 28, 1971 I 54] MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT FOR LIFT TRUCK 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

8661'9/18 [50] 214/620, ABSTRACT; A mamria] handling attachmem f a f klift 86 (A) truck including a basic support assembly detachably secured on the forklift tines. This basic support assembly is'con- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1925 Butler..........................

structed to be capable of mounting different types of material handling such as booms, earth moving equipment and the like without the use of special tools.

214/86(A)UX PATENIEU JUH28 9n SHEET 1 OF 3 INVENTOR VINCENT LAKEN BY 8W ATT'Y PATENTED M28 1971 SHEET 2 OF 3 INVBVTOR VINCENT LAKEN PATENTEI] JUH28 .971

SHEET 3 UP 3 INVENTOR VINCENT LAKE N ATT'Y.

MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT FOR LIFT TRUCK BACKGROUND SUMMARY The present invention relates to material handling equipment and more particularly to material handling attachments for lift trucks.

Lift trucks are primarily used in manufacturing plants for lifting and transporting objects between desired locations about the facility. The lift trucks are limited in their use because the object being handled must generally be lifted from and lowered onto surfaces permitting the insertion and removal of the lift tines extending therefrom. This generally requires the use of pallets or the like, which increases material handling costs. Moreover, there are situations in which the material to be handled is of a shape or located so that the lift tine structure is not suitable.

There are also many occasions in an industrial facility when it is desired to move earth, gravel, stone and the like. Efforts have been made to use lift forks for this purpose by attaching earth moving equipment such as dump buckets, graders and the like. However, the prior equipment applied on the lift truck either required hand loading of the dump bucket or such an extensive modification that the conversion of the lift truck for this purpose was not economically feasible. Thus the earth moving equipment was either rented or purchased for this particular function.

By the present invention it is proposed to provide a material handling attachment for a lift truck which is capable of increasing the utility thereof to perform different functions by the provision of a material handling attachment assembly constructed to permit the attachment of different types and kinds of material handling equipment.

It is a furtherobject to provide a material handling attachment assembly which may be applied simply and quickly without requiring any modification or permanent addition to the lift truck structure.

It is still a further object to provide a material handling attachment for a lift truck which is of simple structure and economical to manufacture.

It is another object to provide a lift truck material handling attachment which incorporates safety features to prevent failure of the attachment and thereby insures a safe perforrnance.

It is still another object to provide a lift truck material handling attachment which is constructed and arranged to provide a basic support structure to which either a boom, dump shovel or scraper may be selectively attached without requiring a modification of either the lift truck or basic support structure.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished generally by the provision of a material handling support platform assembly which is supported on the lift truck tines. A vertical bracket assembly is carried on the forward portion of the support platform assembly. Connected to the upper end of the vertical bracket assembly is a tie, one end of which is detachably'connected to the back plate of the lifting tine mechanism. An auxiliary support bracket is mounted on the rear end ofthe support attachment assembly.

Material handling units such as booms, dump shovels, scrapers and the like are selectively and detachably mounted on the vertical or auxiliary bracket of the support platform assembly. 7

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein the preferred forms of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views and embodiments:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lift truck incorporating a material handling attachment support assembly embodying the structure of the present invention and showing the attachment assembly equipped with a boom;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the material handling support assembly of FIG. 1 but with the boom'removed;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the support assembly shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the support structure and showing a fragmentary phantom view of the lift truck structure on which the support assembly is mounted;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing a scraper unit mounted on the support assembly with some of the parts in dotted lines to illustrate underlying details of structure;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view showing a dump shovel unit mounted on the support assembly;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view partially in cross section taken.

generally along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1 and showing the safety-; lock pin arrangement for supporting the material handling units on the vertical bracket;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of the snubber assembly mounted on the scraper unit bar.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1-6, there is shown a lift truck 10 having mounted thereon the material handling attachment assembly 11 incorporating the structure of the present invention. This lift truck 10 is of substantially standard construction and includes a pair of transversely spaced horizontal tines 12 extending from vertical legs 13. The vertical legs 13 are mounted on bars 14 by means of opposing clamps 16. The bars 14 are connected to the conventional hydraulic lift mechanism of the lift truck for raising and lowering the tines 12.

The material handling attachment assembly 11 includes a basic support assembly 17 on which, as shown in FIG. 1, there is mounted a boom unit 18. The boom unit 18 may be removed and replaced by other types of material handling equipment such as a scraper unit, a dump shovel unit, and the like, as more fully to be explained hereinafter.

The basic support assembly, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, includes a platform 19 including a pair of channels 21 of hatshaped cross section. Connecting the channels in transversely spaced relationship is a front support plate 22 and a rear support plate 23. Fixed across the lower horizontal flanges 24 of each of the channels is a plate 26 which encloses the channels 21 so that the tines 12 are slidably accommodated therein.

Mounted on the front support plate 22 is a bracket assembly 27 including a pair of laterally spaced, upright brackets 28. Supporting the brackets 28 along the outer faces are gussets 29. The brackets 28 and gussets 29 are secured to the upper front plate 22 and to each other as by welding. A plurality of vertically spaced and aligned positioning holes or openings 31 are formed in each of the brackets 28 for supporting a support pin 32.

As shown in FIG. 7, to assure that the support pin 32 is retained within the opening 31 when a material handling unit is supported thereon, cup-shaped collars 33 having an inverted keyhole opening 34 are fixed to the outer side of one of the brackets 28 in alignment with associated openings 31. The support pin 32 is provided with a downwardly depending handgrip portion 35 adjacent which there is fixed a lock pin 36 which is spaced to be received within the cup-shaped chamber 37 when the other end of the support pin 32 is inserted in an aligned opening 31 on the other bracket 28. To insert the support pin 32 in the cup-shaped collar 33 the lock pin 36 is positioned upright so as to enter the elongate slot of the inverted keyhole opening 34. After the handgrip portion 35 is released, the overbalancing weight thereof causes the support pin 32 to rotate, whereby the lock pin 37 is captured between the cup wall and the bracket 28. The support pin 32 may be removed by turning the pin to a position in which the lock pin 36 is aligned with the keyhole opening 34 whereby a horizontal sliding movement thereof withdraws the support pin 32 from the openings 31.

Mounted on the upper rear support plate 23 is an attachment bracket assembly 83 including an angle plate 39 having a horizontal leg 40 fixed to the rear upper support plate 23 and a vertical leg 41. An angle iron 42 is fixed to the upper rear plate and imparts additional support to the angle plate 39. Fixed to the horizontal and vertical legs 40 and 41 respectively are transversely spaced brackets 43 each having aligned openings 44 in which an attachment pin 45 is insertable. The attachment pin 45 may be held in place by a cotter pin or the like.

A tie means 46, extending between the upper end of the brackets 28 and the back bar 14 serves to attachably fasten the basic support unit 17 on the forklift tines 12. The tie means 46 includes a bar 49 fixed between the upper ends of the brackets 28 and to which there is permanently connected for turning movement thereabout one end of a turnbuckle assembly 48. Turnably connected to the other end of the turnbuckle assembly 48 is a C-shaped bracket 59 which is engageable over the back bar'l4. The turnbuckle assembly 48 is initially lengthened to facilitate the engagement of the C-bracket 59 over the back bar 14 and is thereafter shortened to tautly and rigidly retain the basic support assembly 17 on the tines 12. It is to be noted that the turnbuckle assembly 48 also imparts support to the brackets 28 and transmits a portion of the load to the back bar 14.

As heretofore mentioned, the basic material handling support assembly 17 is adaptable to being equipped with different types of material handling units. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the basic support assembly 17 is equipped with the boom unit 18. The boom unit 18 includes a tubular arm 50 which is provided with an enlarged intermediate section 51 which is accommodated. between the brackets 28 so as to eliminate lateral movement therebetween. At the rear end the tubular boom 50 is provided with an attachment plate 52 having an opening which is alignable with the bracket openings 44 so that when the plate 52 is disposed between the brackets 43 the pin may be inserted and fastened in place.

An opening extends through the intermediate portion to permit the passage of the support pin 32 when inserted through any one of the aligned bracket openings 31. In this connection it is to be noted that the boom 50 may be supported in any one of the pairs ofthe aligned openings 31.

As shown, the boom 50 is provided with a hook 53 for lifting objects. However, it should be clearly understood that different lift devices may also be attached thereon. Moreover, the boom 50 need not be straight along its length but may be formed with an angularly bent portion. When formed with an angularly bent portion, a platform for supporting crates or the like may be attached thereto. This modification makes it possible to use the forklift for such service in fruit picking when the fruit crate is carried by the platform.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a scraper unit 55 is shown connected to the basic material handling support assembly 17. The scraper unit 55 includes a tubular bar 56 provided with a widened intennediate portion 57 similarly to the boom 50. An attachment bracket 58 is connected at the rear end of the bar 56 for attachment to the attachment bracket assembly 38 by means of the pin 46. A crossbar 59, which may also be of tubular stock, is fixed to the front end of the tubular bar 56. A scraper blade 61 is mounted on this crossbar 59 for movement above a vertical axis and to be held at a desired angle by clamp means, not shown.

To permit upward yielding movement of the scraper blade 61 as is conventionally required, a snubber assembly 62 is fixed to the tubular bar 56 at the intermediate portion 57 thereof. As shown particularly in FIG. 8, the snubber assembly 62 includes an inner spring 63 and an outer spring 64. The inner and outer springs are each supported at their lower ends in a tube 65 which is fixed to the tubular bar 56. At the upper end, the inner spring 63 is received within a tube 66 add the upper end of the outer spring 64 abuts against the underside of the projecting flange ofa disc 67 fixed to the tube 66. The disc 67 is provided with an axial opening and, to the under side of the disc, about said axial opening, is fixed the upper end of an internally threaded cylindrical nut, through which disc and nut extends an eye bolt 69 having a threaded shank 68.

Extending through the eye of the bolt 69 is the lock pin 32 associated with the brackets 28. When thus supported the force exerted by the springs may be adjusted by turning the disc 67 with its associated nut up or down on shank 68. In the manner the compression of the springs may be adjusted and thereby the snubbing action of the scraper 61 controlled.

A dump shovel unit 71 is shown in FIG. 6 and includes a tubular bar 72 having an intermediate enlarged portion 73. An opening extends through the enlarger portion for accommodating the lock pin 32. At the rear end there is fixed an attachment plate 74 for attachment to the attachment bracket assembly by the attachment pin 45a.

Connected to the front end of the bar 73 are a pair of hinge brackets 76 to which a dump shovel 77 is pivotally attached. A fluid operated piston '78 is pivotally connected at one end of the tubular bar 72 and at the other end to a hinge bracket 79 fixed to the rear of the shovel. The fluid piston 78 is connected to a source of pressurized fluid on the lift truck 10 by tubing 81 through which the fluid flow may be controlled by the operator of the lift truck.

From the foregoing description it should be readily apparent that it is only necessary to remove and invert the lock pin 32 and attachment pin 45a to assemble or remove any on e of the material handling units on or from the basic equipment support assembly. Moreover, the basic support structure may be removed by simply loosening the turnbuckle assembly 48 to release C-bracket from engagement with the back bar. Thus no special tooling such as wrenches and the like are required to attach the attachment units. Thereafter the tines may be slid outwardly to the channels 19 so that the fork lift is again available to perform its normal function.

lclaim:

1. A material handling attachment assembly for a lift truck having a pair of transversely spaced lift tines connnected by a horizontal bar, said material handling attachment assembly comprising a basic support assembly including a platform having a pair of laterally spaced tubular channel means slidable over said forklift tines, upstanding bracket means on the forward end of said platform, and attachment bracket assembly along the rear end of said platform, material handling means including an arm having a material handling device connected to one end thereof, means detachably connecting the other end of said arm to said attachment bracket means for detachably mounting said arm in a selective angular position on said upstanding bracket means, and means, connected at one end to the upper end of said upstanding bracket means and detachably connected to the horizontal bar thereby to secure said platform on said tines.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said bracket means on said forward end of said platform includes a pair of laterally spaced brackets, said brackets having plurality of vertically spaced pairs of aligned openings, said arm having opening means alignable with said pairs of openings, and a lock pin inserted through said aligned opening and said opening means for supporting said arm.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein one of each of said pairs of aligned openings has a cup-shaped disc coaxially dispose thereabout, said cup-shaped disc having an inverted keyhole opening aligned with associated ones of said bracket openings, and wherein said lock pin includes a depending handle and a pin fixed in board of said handle, said pin being insertable through said inverted keyhole slot when said handle is disposed upright and being captured within the chamber of said cup disc when said handle depends downwardly, thereby to retain said lock pin journaled on one of said pairs of aligned openings.

4. The invention as defined in claim ll wherein said rear attachment bracket assembly includes a pair of laterally spaced brackets and a detachable pin extending between said brackets.

same, and said fluid actuated piston means is controlled from said lift truck.

9 The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a scraper unit is connected to said arm, said scraper unit including a buffer spring assembly fixedly mounted at one end to arm and secured at the other end to said lock pin. 

